UFC 145 winner Bocek thinks fight with Lauzon or Sotiropoulos a good idea

Mark Bocek (11-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is as close to a sure thing as you can get on a UFC card held in Canada. The jiu-jitsu black belt has appeared on five of eight in the Great White North. He’s 3-2 on native soil.

Now, he’s looking for card No. 6 after a unanimous decision over John Alessio (34-15 MMA, 0-4 UFC) at this past Saturday’s UFC 145, which took place at Philips Arena in Atlanta.

By appearances, Toronto native Bocek would like to put his submission skills to the test for his next fight.

“I always thought Joe Lauzon and George Sotiropoulos would be good potential matchups,” he said.

Both Lauzon and Sotiropoulos are coming off recent losses, so the timing on that request might not be right. But back-to-back wins over such opponents as Alessio and Nik Lentz have put a spring in his step.

At UFC 145, Tristar head trainer Firas Zahabi and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre helped Bocek stay on the right track. The team knew he had an advantage on the ground, but the veteran Alessio proved to be a tough guy to keep on the mat.

But when Alessio threatened with punches, Bocek was ready.

“Georges helped me out a lot with some footwork and angles for the fight,” he said. “You just don’t want to lose in general with Georges in your corner.”

If Bocek has any regrets about the fight, it’s that he couldn’t dominate Alessio in later rounds.

“I was very happy with round one, but I really wish rounds two and three could have been more like round one, but he’s an experienced guy,” he said.

At the same time, Bocek believes his job was made easier with the fact that Alessio had fought five weeks prior to this past Saturday’s event.

“Sometimes guys come in a little overtrained, and from my experience, I’ve done that too and I can tell you less is more,” he said. “It’s definitely better to be a little undertrained than a little overtrained. Either way, he’s an experienced vet.”

Experience wasn’t enough to keep Bocek from winning all three rounds on two of three judges’ scorecards.

As to what’s next, there’s nothing scheduled for the Canadian. But UFC 149 just so happens to be scheduled for July 21 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. And by the way, Bocek said a rematch with Mac Danzig, who submitted him in his first turn as hometown hero in the UFC, would be just fine, too. So would a fight with Matt Wiman, whom Alessio replaced when injury struck.

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